As a general rule, if you lose your Swiss driving licence while living abroad, you will be issued only with a certificate detailing the categories of vehicle for which your licence is valid in Switzerland (in so far as the relevant cantonal road traffic office still has this information in its records). To obtain this document, you need to contact the cantonal authority that issued your Swiss driving licence (i.e. from the place where you sat your theory and driving tests).
Loss of Swiss driving licence – Residence abroad
Without any guarantee that your application will be successful, you may present the following documents to the competent road traffic office in your country of residence with a view to obtaining a local driving licence:
- a certificate detailing the categories of vehicle for which your original driving licence is valid in Switzerland
- written confirmation from the cantonal road traffic office that Swiss law does not permit the issue of a duplicate Swiss driving licence if the holder is resident abroad
- a police report on the loss of the original driving licence obtained from the local police where the loss occurred
Documents issued by a Swiss authority may need to be legalised (apostille) before they are submitted to a foreign authority. You will find more information on this procedure under the Legalisations sectiion.
